About one in six people with a credit file in Rio Blanco County, Colorado, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Rio Blanco County, 15.5% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 79% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 82% of U.S. counties.
What drives Rio Blanco County's score
In Rio Blanco County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 51.2. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 16.3. People with a credit card behind: 3.1%, August 2025, lower than in 88% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Rio Blanco County: jobs, late payments on loans, income and the safety net, collections and bankruptcy, and housing costs. Each part is scored from 0 to 100, and a higher score means worse off than other counties.
Rio Blanco County isn't among the worst-off quarter of U.S. counties on any measure.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 51.2 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202635th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working23.6% · 2020 to 202466th percentile
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- 36.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.9% · 202429th percentile
- Children below the poverty line13.2% · 202428th percentile
- People with a disability13.6% · 2020 to 202427th percentile
- People without health insurance9.5% · 2020 to 202462nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$72,651 · 202434th percentile
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- 24.8 of 100
Housing costs
Renters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent11.1% · 2020 to 202415th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.2% · fiscal year 202734th percentile
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- 21.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector15.5% · August 202520th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people76.1 · 202522nd percentile
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- 16.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.1% · August 202511th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind2.8% · August 202512th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score33.8% · second quarter of 202624th percentile
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Sources: Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Fair Market Rents and Census income; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. County Distress Index by American Default Research, from data through Sep 2026.
Where the money in Rio Blanco County comes from
Benefit checks are Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid paid on people's behalf, veterans' benefits, and food and income support, so a high share usually means an older population, low pay, or both. In Rio Blanco County, 17.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Rio Blanco County
Colorado
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Rio Blanco County had its largest rise, from 14.1% in 2014 to 20.8% in 2019.
In Rio Blanco County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 22.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Rio Blanco County, Colorado, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 22.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Rio Blanco County getting SNAP food aid grew to about five times its 2009 level, reaching 13.8%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2022 to 2023, reaching 13.3%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Rio Blanco County, Colorado.
How Rio Blanco County has changed
Rio Blanco County's population rose 36% from 1969 to 2024, with most of the change between 1974 and 1979
High on the chart: 6,818 in 1984. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Rio Blanco County, Colorado.
The number of jobs located in Rio Blanco County had its largest rise, from 2,600 in 2000 to 3,108 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Rio Blanco County was at its highest on the chart in 2010 and is down 8% since
High on the chart: 3,123 in 2010. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Rio Blanco County, Colorado.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.2% | 2025 3.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 6.9% | 2024 10.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $27,051 | 2024 $72,651 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Rio Blanco County's history
1973
Peaceful nuclear explosion May 17, 1973 part of Operation Plowshare; Project Rio Blanco three nearly simultaneous explosions for unconventional natural gas production. Wikipedia
1997
Hail in September 1997 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1998
Lightning in August 1998 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 6,666. The 2020 Census counted 6,529, 98% of the peak. Census Bureau
2025
Lee Fire August 2025 burned 137,000 acres, fourth-largest wildfire in Colorado history. Wikipedia
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Since 1984
5 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Rio Blanco County, 1 of them for flooding. FEMA
Rio Blanco County beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Rio Blanco County, in Colorado and Utah, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Rio Blanco County ranks 2nd of the five; Moffat County is highest, at 25.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uintah County, UT | 36 | 12.5% | 19.5% |
| Moffat County, CO | 36 | 10.1% | 25.0% |
| Rio Blanco County, CO | 17 | 10.9% | 22.0% |
| Garfield County, CO | 12 | 7.5% | 14.0% |
| Routt County, CO | 10 | 6.6% | 7.6% |
Distress score: American Default Research, County Distress Index, data through Sep 2026; each county scored against all 3,144. Poverty rate: Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, 2024. Benefit checks: Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024. Neighbors share a border, from Census county maps.
Is Rio Blanco County the poorest county in Colorado?
No, Rio Blanco County's poverty rate was 10.9% in 2024, 35th highest of 64 in Colorado (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Crowley County, at 39.0%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Rio Blanco County ranks 47th of 64 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Rio Blanco County
Housing counselors approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development work at nonprofit agencies. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau describes free foreclosure-avoidance counseling, including help with mortgage-company conversations and available options Source CFPB.
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Colorado Legal Services
Legal aid
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Colorado Bar Association — Find a Lawyer directory
Find a lawyer
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HUD-approved housing counselors
Our help directory lists 1,010 agencies approved for foreclosure counseling, by state.
The score, its 14 measures and their sources, in one file. Free to use with credit to American Default Research.
Download the CSV for Rio Blanco County · Every U.S. county (CSV)
Sources and method
- American Default Research · County Distress Index Data through Sep 2026, built from Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; HUD Fair Market Rents and Census income; Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. The County Distress Index is American Default Research's own calculation; the Urban Institute does not produce or endorse it. Our methodology
- Urban Institute · Debt in America Breno Braga, Signe-Mary McKernan, Samantha Atherton, and Kassandra Martinchek, "Debt in America," last updated November 20, 2025, https://datacatalog.urban.org/dataset/debt-america-2025. Licensed under ODC-By 1.0.
- Rent on a two-bedroom and household income The rent share compares HUD fair market rent for fiscal year 2027 with Census Bureau median household income for 2024. The page calls this the typical household's income.
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts (CAINC4) · income shares Where the money in Rio Blanco County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.